Influence of Graphene Oxide Nanoparticles on the Mechanical Behavior of Stereolithography Printed Polyether Ether Ketone Composites

The objective of this work is to analyze the impact of graphene oxide percentage on the mechanical behavior of polyether ether ketone (PEEK) nanocomposites produced by stereolithography. The dispersion of graphene oxide (GO) nanoparticles was analyzed using both the scanning electron microscopes and transmission electron microscopes. The mechanical properties of nanocomposites were analyzed by performing hardness and tensile tests in accordance with ASTM standards. The morphology of the final product shows a consistent distribution of GO nanoparticles and a robust interfacial bonding between the nanoparticle reinforcement and the PEEK matrix. It is found that the nanoparticles enhanced the dimensional stability of the nanocomposites, resulting in lower dimensional tolerance compared to the pure PEEK material. The microhardness test has been carried out on the samples, demonstrating the beneficial effect of nanoparticles; the PEEK nanocomposite containing 0.75% nanoparticles gives a higher hardness value of 71 VHN. The strength of nanocomposites was found to increase due to the robust interfacial cohesion between GO and PEEK, resulting in enhanced hardness. Here, the hardness exhibits a negative impact on elongation, which yields a declining trend from (1.7 ± 0.6)% to (1.4 ± 0.6)% with an increase in graphene oxide nanoparticles.